Club licence granted

HIGHWORTH Town Junior Football Club has had an application to alter their licensing conditions approved, meaning they can host more outdoor events.

A hearing was held yesterday into the application, as the club wanted to be given permission to consume alcohol outside the pavilion and hold regulated entertainment.

The town council, along with a number of residents, had objected to the alterations on the grounds of public safety and the avoidance of a public nuisance while residents who live opposite the site were worried about the impact it would have on them.

However, the licensing panel came down on the side of the football club, meaning more events such as the Higworts Festival can take place in the future.

Originally, the application was put forward for Saturday’s event but because of the date of the hearing the club went with a temporary events notice so it could go ahead. The town council wanted the club to go with a temporary events notice but this would have restricted the number of people who could attend any event they put on.

One of the reasons the football club holds events is because it is looking to raise funds to build an all-weather training facility at Warneford School.

After the decision was made, the club chairman expressed his delight at the decision which he said would benefit the community.

Mark Collett said: “Following the decision made by today's panel in respect of our licence application we are pleased with the decision made. We were delighted that our proposal to reduce the original suggested hours was considered and accepted.

“We will now look forward to putting on further events for the local community in the near future, like the very successful event held at the weekend which was attended by nearly 400 local residents.”

Wiltshire Police also asked for some conditions to be placed on the licence which the club happily accepted. These included a requirement for CCTV and an insistence of a challenge 25 policy, both of which are already in place.

A number of cases were made by Highworth Town Council during the hearing as to why they objected to the licence changes.

Among them was a fear that the exact numbers of people attending any event could not be controlled as the field has public access. Therefore, a condition was inserted which means the club must have a temporary fence around the boundary of any event.